Director, AI Product

MERGE•Chicago, IL

4d•$175,000 - $200,000•Hybrid

About The Position

MERGE is on a mission to lead the charge in AI, both within our own organization and in supporting our client services. As our Director, AI Products, you will lead the charge in transforming our organization from traditional workflows to an AI-first operating system. This is a critical company-wide initiative where you will act as a hybrid of Product Director and Internal Founder, partnering with leadership to shape the vision for our "AI Operating System". You will be a key leader within the AI Garage: a new organization hellbent on taking full advantage of AI. The Garage is focused on solving immediate, high-impact problems for our broader services organization, with the long-term goal of creating and bringing these validated products to market. You will collaborate closely with this engineering team to build and validate AI solutions leveraging Merge as your first customer.

Requirements

Autonomy & Conviction: You are a relentless self-starter who brings a strong point of view and conviction to your decision-making. You are willing to learn the company from the inside out and can thrive without a structured "hand-holding" environment.
Experience: 7+ years in process optimization, digital transformation, or management consulting.
AI Literacy: Strong understanding of AI technologies and their capabilities/limitations (e.g., context windows, RAG, agentic reasoning).
Process Architecture: Experience with process mapping and optimization, translating human processes into logical software requirements.
SaaS Vision: Commercial instincts to identify and package internal efficiency tools as SaaS products.
Technical Empathy & Agile Execution: Ability to effectively communicate with engineers and guide development, utilizing Scrum methodologies to manage rapid iteration cycles in a RAD (Rapid Application Development) environment. Basic programming knowledge is also required.

Nice To Haves

Experience in venture building, corporate innovation arms, or incubators.
Background in marketing and/or life science automation.
Hands-on experience with "No-Code" builders for prototyping.
Expertise in transitioning service businesses into product/SaaS models.
Familiarity with agentic AI platforms.
Strong communication skills to translate technical concepts for diverse audiences.
Change management expertise with sensitivity to human factors.

Responsibilities

Define the Vision: Collaborate with executive leadership to architect the roadmap for AI adoption, shaping the "why" and "how" of our cognitive transformation.
Assess Market Viability: Evaluate internal tools for their potential to succeed in the market and develop "Go-to-Market" strategies for successful pilots.
Leverage Client Trust: Use internal efficiency data to validate software and create compelling narratives to sell innovations to our client base.
Analyze ROI: Balance the portfolio between tools that save time and those with high SaaS potential.
Observe and Analyze: Document workflows, identify decision points, and design intelligent automation that augments human creativity and strategy.
Collaborate with Engineering: Partner with the AI Garage team to guide the build process, prioritize the backlog, and ensure technical outputs align with business goals.
Prototype to Product: Transition solutions from prototypes to scalable products, determining when tools are ready for internal use and external launch.
Validate and Launch: Treat employees as "Alpha" testers, refine products based on feedback, and ensure smooth adoption of AI tools internally before market launch.